For a series with such an inherently cynical premise It's amazing how captivating this late sequel is again. Characters are reduced to objects of meticulously crafted visual storytelling sequences, setups for a punchline, and yet the dread these characters experience feels more palpable than with many contemporary horror films that are character-focused.
Kind of similar to Smile 2 in this sense.

Very pastiche (derogatory). The Chinatown reference is a big head scratcher especially. Ti West is such an uninteresting filmmaker. The finale is laughably uninspired. Jokes on me for watching this to complete his incoherent trilogy in the first place.

I laughed and I cried,
because this work of fiction
is so incomprehensably useless,
the editing can only be meant as a sick joke,
I'm absolutely convinced,
that the director kept rolling and rolling,
being of the conviction
that every minute of film is precious
and must be kept in,
at all cost,
I don't think,
that I can see a shot/reverse shot
with the same eyes ever again,
I don't even want to talk about the sex scenes,
all in all,
a violent attack on the senses,
I laughed and I cried...
And a part of me died.

Leon, wer ist das?
[...]
Erik, wer ist das?

Dieser Film ist dramaturgisch so diffus, dass er alle Vorgänger und sogar den Vampir-Flugfußball-Nachfolger in den Schatten respektive den Nebel stellt. Die Wilden Kerle leben schon lange nicht mehr in der Bundesrepublik, sondern haben sich in eine kollektive postapokalyptische Psychose gesteigert, in der Jugendgangs mit heiligem Ernst und schleierhaften Motivationen (und Outfits) gegeneinander in unpraktischen bis unsinnigen Variationen des Fußballspiels antreten.
Die meiste Zeit bringt der Film allerdings mit Reaction-Shots von Vanessa zu, die als Figur immer entweder eifersüchtig ist oder sich in merkwürdige Beziehungen mit feindlichen Gangleadern stürzt.

Strapaziös.